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Elgin’s effort demonstrates the difficult balance for communities in trying to protect citizens from dog attacks while avoiding the outcries — and potential lawsuits — from those who say pit bulls are unfairly demonized.

Joe Remijas dresses up his dog Taysia with feather boas and paints her toenails when he takes her on weekly visits to a nursing home and hospital in Elgin.

A certified therapy dog, Taysia has brought cheer to hundreds of ill and elderly people over the past seven years, he said.

Taysia is also a pit bull. So in order to keep her, Remijas will likely have to secure $100,000 in liability insurance and post a “dangerous dog” sign on his property, restrictions the Elgin City Council will impose on dangerous and vicious dogs if an animal control ordinance it is considering becomes law. The measure narrowly won preliminary approval last week.Read the rest of this entry »

Nature’s Variety Expands Nationwide Voluntary Recall to Include All Raw Frozen Chicken Diets with Any ‘Best If Used By’ Date On or Before 2/5/11

LINCOLN, Neb., March 8 /PRNewswire/ — Nature’s Variety has expanded its voluntary recall of Chicken Formula Raw Frozen Diets for dogs and cats to include the “Best If Used By” dates of 10/29/10 and 11/9/10 because these products may be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella can affect animals and there is risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products. People handling pet food can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the product or any surfaces exposed to these products.Read the rest of this entry »

This guest post is brought especially to you by Dog Fence DIY’s staff veterinarian Dr. Susan Wright. Dr. Susan Wright is a huge advocate of dog’s getting proper nutrition and exercise. Dog Fence DIY will help you choose the right system for your doggie, help you install it, and also help train your pet to use their new system. Dog Fence DIY carries the Innotek SD 2100 system at the best available price.

As dog owners, we are responsible for taking care of our pets. This means controlling internal and external parasites, protecting him from infectious diseases with vaccination, and taking him to the vet when he’s ill. However, many people don’t recognize the importance of good nutrition in keeping our dogs in the best possible health.

The food your dog eats is the fuel that powers his body, and the nutrients in his diet allow him to function at his best. There is an ideal amount of each nutrient that your dog should eat per day, and deficiencies can be harmful. For example, too little calcium in a growing dog can lead to the bone disease known as rickets. On the other hand, he can also have too much of a good thing, with excess calcium intake in a pup being implicated in orthopedic conditions such as osteochondrosis dissecans. It’s important that you feed a nutritionally balanced food, to avoid such excesses and deficiencies.Read the rest of this entry »

We just wanted to write a quick word or two about our new retail store located at 3212 S. Grove Ave in Berwyn! We have all kinds of goodies for your four-legged family members, from treats to toys to accessories. Our regular business hours are Monday – Friday from 10am to 7pm, Saturday from 10am to 5pm, and closed on Sunday…however this weekend and next weekend we’ll have special hours posted (check back for details). So don’t be shy, grab your pooch and pay us a visit! Mention you’re a fan of The Urban Mutt and get a free gift with purchase!!

Do your bananas start to ripen faster than you can eat them? Well here’s an easy and healthy solution to making salvaging them instead of throwing them away.

Get a food dehydrator….it doesn’t have to be anything fancy. We recently purchased one at Wal-Mart for $39.98. Although at first you may think that it’s too much money, but in the long run you’ll save money as well as make healthy snacks for you and your dog. Read the rest of this entry »